About

Cambridge University Press is the world’s oldest publishing house, having been founded in 1534 with letters patent from Henry VIII. 

Our bookshop opened in 1992 to showcase the full range of CUP publishing, but the shop itself has been around for a great deal longer and has been selling books all the while; since 1581 in fact when it was run by a William Scarlett. The first University printer, Thomas Thomas, was based just over the road on what was Regent Walk and is now Senate House Lawn, in an area that was really the bookselling centre of the town. 

Passing from hand to hand over the centuries, 1 Trinity Street was notably run by Macmillan and Bowes (and then Bowes and Bowes) from the mid-nineteenth century.

We took on the site in 1992 and are still going strong today, showcasing over 50,000 different titles in the shop. We are also able to get hold of a huge backlist of print on demand editions from the Press back-catalogue, which gets those hard-to-find books right to the people who want to read them all over the world. In addition to that we stock a large range of Cambridge souvenirs and bookish gifts for the discerning visitor. 

We are really proud to continue the fine old tradition of selling books on this site and to contribute our bit to the noble history of 1 Trinity Street. We love seeing our customers, new and returning, from all over the city and far beyond. At a time when bricks and mortar bookshops are more important than ever, you can shop in confidence from us knowing that you are supporting local business and the high street, as well as the Press in its mission to publish and supply cutting edge research and study materials to everyone. It makes all the difference in the world.

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